tiering and FP+

[waymickey]

I am sorry for yet another FP+ question. I have not really been following but did print out a page from March about fast passes. I just read iota and was curious if the info is still accurate.
Are there still tiers in HS and Epcot?
Can you still only pick three and then pick more during the day for that park?
I do am not staying on site and I do not have a magic band as of yet. Do I need one? Would getting one make anything easier?
I am visiting late august. Is the 7DMT still a hard ticket to get?

Thanks for any and all help.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Just some quick answers:

1. Yes, the tiering is still in place and DHS and Epcot.
2. Yes, you can book 3 in advance, and then more once you've used those three.
3. YES! 7DMT can still be hard. I think the most challenging (at least from when we booked ours for last August was Anna & Elsa)
4. No, you don't need a MB, your ticket will work just fine.

Are you planning for THIS August? If so, I'm assuming you're getting ready to book FP+ at the 30-day mark. Good Luck - I'm sure you'll get what you'd like.

[Pirate Granny]

You need to have purchased a ticket(s) to the park, and link to my disney experience BEFORE a you will be able to select FP+ . good Luck

[DizneyFreak2002]

The tiers stink... Just got back from a week in WDW, and I hate the tiers... More on that later...

Three in one day is not enough... Not in summer... Not with peak crowds...

7D was already "sold" out for the day, not unexpected... Still managed to get on the ride though, with only a 30 minute wait...

[waymickey]

7D sold as to fast pass+ ? I am not happy about staying up late to plan something 30 days away. I dont like this at all. I am hoping that the end of August will be less crowded and I will not need these fast passes.

[waymickey]

Ok so for my first day allowed to make fast passes and I just found that what I wanted is sold out and /or down for refurb. Kind of makes staying up till midnight a bummer. I guess I will hit a different park or wait in the standby lines.
not a happy camper..

[WiltonJohn]

With all the focus on the FastPass+ business... everyone seems to forget that there are the "standby" lines...... which until everyone started calling them "standby" lines, were the NORMAL lines.

If you plan your park day skillfully....... you CAN manage to get on some rides (including popular ones) without absurdly long lines and without having a FastPass+ for it. Somewhat like it USED to be.

Show up for 7 Dwarf's Mine Train and want to ride standby (normal line) at 11 AM on a peak business day .......... and yup...... absurdly long line. Go first thing in the AM or late at night...... shorter.

The "standby" name somehow has a negative implication that the REAL line is the FastPass+ line.......... that somehow people are ENTITLED to being in THAT line... and only the losers are in the "standby" line.

To me... FastPass+ (and the old FastPass) was an added bonus, not a core expectation. It seems that people are turning it into a core expectation, and are even wanting more and more of that.

A given ride has a certain maximum throughput capacity. If it can only handle 1000 people an hour... then it does not matter whether you go in the FastPass line or the "standby" line....... they can handle 1000 people in a hour. In one hour 1000 people will ride. If they give out 2000 FastPasses....... someone is going to wait a LONG time anyway.

Attendance is up in the parks. In general, the rides hourly CAPACITY is not changing. Hence ... longer lines.

The solution here to lines of all kinds at Disney is not giving out more FastPasses.... it is in either upping ride capacity (adding attractions works too) ......... or in limiting ticket sales. Either can work as a business model. It is a cost/benefit equation from the point of view of a business...... which one makes the most Net money.

Management has to ask what is the payback on expensive physical plant capacity increases versus increased potential revenues...... or how elastic is the market if the ticket prices are increased to limit the number of people for the existing capacity.

best,

...............john

[Luv4WDW]

I really like the new FastPass+ system. I can't understand why people would rather run from one end of the park to another to get FastPasses (as was the case with the old system). I've heard people saying they used to get more than 8 per day. That doesn't sound appealing to me at all, having to walk all over to get your FastPasses, and then go back later to use them. Even with the old system you had to be in that park to get a FastPass, so that's not a change. This is awesome for people who park hop. Before we had no chance of getting a fastpass when we'd get to a park in the evening. We knew that, though, and went into it knowing we'd just have to wait in line because we chose to take an afternoon break rather than head right over to the park. This way we visit the park with AM extra magic hours (where fastpasses aren't yet needed), go back to the resort in the afternoon, and then go to a different park in the evening, where we have our FastPasses reserved. I agree with WiltonJohn... people have come to expect FastPasses as the norm, and feel like they've been down graded if they have to use the standby line. I'm just thankful we're offered 3 free passes. At Universal you have to pay $40 a person to take advantage of their Express Pass system!